


let the world turn

by flyler



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Sanvers Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-27 02:45:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17153825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyler/pseuds/flyler
Summary: Agent Alex Danvers has a mission that takes her to Blue Springs, Nebraska.





	let the world turn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosecolouredlesbian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosecolouredlesbian/gifts).



_December, 2011._

 

When Maggie Rodas was growing up, her parents would always joke she was solar-powered, up with the sun and asleep with the stars. Now, as an adult, she makes the joke herself.

 

She uses the mornings to steady herself. As an officer under her dad, most of the town called nepotism when she came back from school and immediately got a job.

 

Over the past two years, she’s hoped she’s proved her town wrong. Waking up at the crack of dawn to do things such as take daily runs and give an early morning patrol are a part of that. Her father always tells her she doesn’t have to do all that; not much happens except filing paperwork. Sometimes, a cow gets loose or neighbors argue about overgrown trees. She should stay in shape, he says, but not in too much shape that she doesn’t land a husband soon.

 

What Maggie doesn’t tell anyone is when she’s home alone in her room (the same one she grew up with except it has a new paint job and all the posters have been moved to the attic) she likes to look in the mirror. Her arms, torso, and back are muscular. She likes that. Her dad says it’s the exact type of thing that drives men away.

 

But Maggie doesn’t do things depending on what men want.

 

It’s a boring life, and she knows that. But Blue Springs was never interesting to begin with.

 

At least, until the day a pod crashed into her backyard.

 

***

 

“Agent Danvers? I have a new case I’d like you to check out.”

 

Henshaw hands Alex a manila folder and she glances through it. “Nebraska? Why me? Most agents you assign this far away are more senior than me.”

 

“Because a pod crashed there, and by the way the local law enforcement are describing it, it sounds similar to the one your sister was in.”

 

Alex gapes. “Sir―”

 

Henshaw brings a hand up. “You know you never have to worry about your sister’s safety, even here. We make sure of that, don’t we?”

 

Alex nods. “I just know she’s going to be upset that I’ll be going halfway across the country so close to the holidays.”

 

“I don’t like asking you to leave knowing that, but I figured you wouldn’t like it if I sent someone else. And I think you’re ready for a mission like this.”

 

Alex gives a shrug and a quick downcast look that says _You have a point._ before looking back up at her superior.

 

“You’ll be going alone. No backup and in unfamiliar territory. I want you to be careful, okay? I understand this pod will be important to you, but it doesn’t appear to be an immediate threat. Get to know the civilians and have them willingly hand the pod to you. Don’t cause havoc. Don’t use the big guns. This is a lesson for you more than anything. I want you to learn how to be more… subtle. And to get along with those you come into contact with.”

 

Alex blinks innocently at him, and the wheels in her head are already turning, calculating what to do and how to do it. “Do we know where exactly it is?”

 

“We just know it’s in town,” Henshaw says. “The specifics of where the pod landed is unknown. That’s why I want you to take your time. It’s not an emergency.”

 

 _That’s why he’s letting me go_ , Alex realizes. _It’s not an emergency, it’s something similar to what Kara landed in, and he’s making it some fucking class assignment._

 

She’s just going to get the pod and get out as soon as possible.

 

“Does tomorrow morning sound good to you?” Henshaw asks. “Oh, and don’t forget. Nebraska gets cold in the winter. You’ll want a coat.”

 

***

 

On the drive from the airport in Omaha to Wymore, Alex notices a lot of things. For one, there’s a ton of corn. Like, a _lot_. Growing up in California and having an international job means she doesn’t go to the Midwest much, and she finally gets why people act like there’s a larger population of crops than people.

 

She also notices that the people here are slow. Not in a dumber way, but in the way that shows they aren’t in a rush. As someone who lives in a constant state of _go go go_ , it’s getting increasingly frustrating to be all but tailing most cars she gets behind, even those in the leftmost lane.

 

_Maybe what Director Henshaw said about taking my time came from the experience of being here._

 

When she gets out to pump gas for the sleek black Tahoe that the DEO rented her, she realizes why Henshaw advised for the coat. Alex had read the weather on her phone and decided it was warm enough that her leather jacket might suffice, but the wind chill made it seem ten degrees colder.

 

The pump is old and slow. As the number slowly climb, Alex locks the car and decides she’ll go into the small convenience store for and ice scraper and maybe an energy drink. She hopes she doesn’t have to use the former. The few time she’s been in snow it’s been an international crisis to defeat some alien hellbent on destroying the planet, so she doesn’t have the fondest memories attached to it.

 

Also, it’s cold as hell.

 

A bell states her entrance and the one employee and sparse customers whip their heads around when they realize it’s someone they don’t recognize. Their glares don’t get any better when they see it’s a woman sporting a leather jacket and an undercut.

 

Her hopes of her blending in with the townies and have them cooperate with her as they give her the information she needs isn’t going to work as well as she planned.

 

(She doesn’t _try_ to look gay. Really, she doesn’t, and in California, it magnetically attracts women. Here, it just seems to attract unwanted attention.)

 

“You need something?” The clerk’s thick accent breaks the silence.

 

“Do you have any ice scrapers?”

 

Alex follows where the clerk pointed and looks for the cheapest one. She wants to get out of there as quickly as possible and so that’s the only thing she grabs before she gets to the register.

 

“You don’t seem to be around here,” the clerk said. He was middle-aged with a slipping hairline. Alex had a feeling this station was a family business. His tone was friendly, but his eyes told her he was already judging her.

 

“I’m not. Just a pit stop.” She dodges the rest of his personal questions and when she’s back in her vehicle, she turns the radio all the way up.

 

***

 

“Do you know what it is?” Maggie stands on her tiptoes trying to look into the window the weird ship has, but it’s too dark.

 

“Of course not. And stand back!” Maggie’s dad grabs the back of her flannel and pulls.

 

“Jeez, dad. I can handle myself. I just wanted a peek.”

 

“I’m not saying you can’t, I just don’t want you to get hurt. Can you go get Mason? I’m going to ask him to help me try and lift this thing.”

 

Maggie crosses her arms. Mason was the other officer under her father. “And you don’t want my help?”

 

Her father stands up from his crouched position to give Maggie an exasperated look. “Don’t be like that right now.”

 

“Like what? I’m just saying I can help lift, too.”

 

“Go get your brother. Maybe you can go back inside and make sure your mother’s awake.” His tone tells Maggie it’s final.

 

Maggie groans and tries not to stomp in the house like a child who was just told they couldn’t get the newest model of a toy. Her not-so-uncommon thought of _If Mom hadn’t been in that tractor accident a barely two semesters before getting my bachelor’s, I wouldn’t be here_ runs through her mind as she yells her brother’s name.

 

As it rings around the small home, Maggie has a feeling that if her mother wasn’t awake, she would be now. She stalks her way out the side door away from her family to go to the room above the third-car garage that she’s called home ever since she’d come back.

 

She doesn’t particularly like living at home, but there aren’t a lot of real estate options in Blue Springs. And when she goes to sleep at night thinking of the kind of place she’d be willing to buy, it’s far, far away from here.

 

***

 

Alex has been trying to talk to townies to no avail. The idea of knowing everyone in town and doing anything to protect them flies over her head―she’s always been one to have a small family. Midvale wasn’t National City or anything, but it was enough to be considered a suburb. This place feels like the type that if you’re driving on the interstate and you blink, it’s gone.

 

The agent is tempted to sneak around to get some answers herself. She snickers when she thinks about how short of a time it’d take. But at the same time, that would only make her look worse to the people who live here. If she decides to do it, it’d at least be best to do it at night.

 

The only place open that sells any kind of food and isn’t a dollar store is a bar called The Dog House. When she walks in, she sees several pairs of eyes land on her, and she hates it. She misses the city where a couple could be screaming about threatening divorce in the middle of the street and people would mind their fucking business.

 

The place is small. Alex has seen bathrooms bigger than this place. She sits down at one of the few tables that doesn’t have people in it and opens a menu than most middle schoolers. It’s cheap and she orders a cheeseburger and fries.

 

_Maybe this place isn’t so terrible, after all._

 

She texts Kara while eating because her need to ignore the people around her outweighs the desire to not distract Kara from her last year in university. As time goes on, though, guilt starts to settle in her stomach. She’d told her sister she was going on a scavenger for a rare type of wheat bacteria found in Nebraska for a control variable in the lab and while Kara’s texts to her about work are always encouragingly sweet, they’re not true, and Alex finds herself feeling too terrible to finish more than half the burger and most of her fries.

 

The combination of missing her sister, lying to her, and being in Bumfuck, USA, causes Alex to gravitate towards the bar counter for what she’s decided is something fruity but not strong.

 

Before she can get to the counter, something hard rams into her shoulder. Alex whips around just in time to see another woman holding an empty beer glass in each hand try to catch her balance.

 

“I’m so sorry!” Alex rushes to the woman. “Are you okay?”

 

The woman waves Alex off as well as she can with full hands. “I’m fine.” Her full lips purse. “Say, you’re the one that’s been asking around about a pod, right?”

 

Alex straightens her posture. “You don’t have to pretend like you don’t already know.” She notices a badge tucked into the woman’s jeans. “You’re an officer? I assume you know where the pod is.”

 

“Of course I do,” the woman says. “Everyone does.”

 

“You’re not going to tell me where it is,” Alex states. It takes all the strength in her not to slump her shoulders.

 

“Not really.” The woman smirks at that. “I’ll be nice, though. You’re looking in the wrong place. There’s more to this place than just Wymore, y’know. It’s several small towns combined. Why’re you here, anyway?”

 

“I work for the government.”

 

The woman’s playful demeanor turns slightly chillier. “No one told us feds were coming here.”

 

“Look, whether or not you’re going to give me the information, I’ll find it out.” Alex stretches to slap a few bills on the table where her half-eaten food lay. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon."

 

And with that, she walks past the officer and out the door.

 

***

 

As Maggie sets the empty glasses to be refilled on the bar counter, she takes a look as the government worker skulks out of the bar. It’s not hard to. She’s good-looking.

 

Maggie shakes her head. She’s known everyone in this town her whole life; she has no doubt any stranger to walk into town would look better than the people in Blue Springs.

 

Speaking of, as the bartender and owner turns around to see Maggie at the counter, he jokes, as he does every time, “ID, ma’am?”

 

“C’mon, Frank,” Maggie says. “I held my 21st here.”

 

“You know I like to tease,” Frank says. He takes the glasses to the tap. “Seems like just a few weeks ago you and Piper were in that elementary school play together.”

 

“How is she?” Maggie asks, and nods at the correct times as Frank describes his daughter’s pregnancy adventures.

 

After Frank gives her the two beers, Maggie walks back to the table she and her father sit at and she sets their respective glasses down.

 

“Who were you talking to?” her dad asks.

 

“Some fed is here to take a look at that pod,” Maggie says.

 

“She’s a fed?” Her dad visibly bristles. “Why is she here?”

 

“Does it matter? We can get that thing out of our backyard and she can leave. It’s a win-win.”

 

“I dunno,” her dad grumbles. “I don’t want some fed’ral on my property. Especially one that looks as dykey-lookin’ as her.”

 

“Dad,” Maggie hisses. “Seriously?”

 

He rolls his eyes. “I know you sympathize with them―”

 

“I… I don’t _sympathize_ with anyone, I just think it’s rude to assume―”

 

“―but it doesn’t mean anything, Maggie.”

 

“I don’t really want to argue. I just want to finish eating,” Maggie says. “All I’m gonna say is that the more quickly we cooperate with that fed, the faster she leaves. So keep that in mind.”   

 

***

 

There’s not a lot of options in terms of places to stay, but Alex is able to find the D&M motel. She’s the only one rooming with them at the moment.

 

The owner, a woman named Petunia, seemed awfully cheery at the thought of someone finally staying at her business. The “Merry Christmas!” she was greeted with free souvenirs that either represented Blue Springs, Wymore, or the upcoming holiday.

 

“It must be so sad having to be away from your family this time of year,” she’d said, and Alex nodded along, not bothering to break it to the older woman that she didn’t really celebrate Christmas, though she did use the winter holiday to spend time with her sister.

 

She didn’t need another reason for this town to see her as the enemy.

 

While Henshaw had told her to use this as a learning experience, Alex is getting frustrated. She’s never had to stay overnight on a mission like this before. It’s a fucking _pod_ , for Christ’s sake. Why do they want to keep it a secret so bad?

 

Due to the time of year, by the time it’s six o’clock, it’s dark. Alex feels slightly thankful for that.

 

Watching some Judge Judy rip-off and eating snacks she’d gotten from the Dollar General until it got dark and late enough, the only thing Alex needs to do to take off into the night is remove her watch, which is reflective. She naturally wears all black clothing, so she’ll blend fine into the night. She makes sure the turtleneck under her leather jacket is enough for the night, and it doesn’t seem too bad. It’ll be a piece of cake.

 

At least, she thought.

 

 _Everyone_ had Christmas lights up.

 

“Goddammit,” she mutters, kicking stray rocks from the broken-down country sidewalk onto the broken-down country road. She desperately wishes she had the DEO technology to hover over the blip-on-a-radar of the town and see the pod in what would most likely be instantly.

 

Alex can already here Director Henshaw’s voice. _It’s important to not rely on the technology we have,_ he’d say. _Sometimes, you have to go without._

 

Soon, Alex is in a place that’s so deeply rural, the roads are no longer asphalt. She can see the dim lights of houses acres away slowly be replaced by porch lights. Several livestock are at the edge of their enclosed spaces and if it was light outside, Alex knows their big, brown eyes would be staring at her.

 

Do they know she’s not from around here, too? Who the hell knows.

 

As much as Alex wishes she could, she doesn’t go on any of the private property. Her reflexes are quick, but she doesn’t know if she could handle getting shot at by a hick with a rifle. It seems too much trouble to deal with.

 

It’s around eleven or so when she hears the crunch of tires on gravel. Alex turns around and can barely make out the shape of a police cruiser. It turns its high beams on and she shields her eyes with her arm, squinting.

 

“C’mon!” she yells. “You can turn those off.”

 

The high beams get slightly lower, but they still stay on. “I just wanted to get a good look at ya!”

 

Alex doesn’t need to be able to make out the figure stepping out of the cruiser to recognize the woman from the bar. The officer walks up to her. “Y’know, nameless stranger, someone called us saying you were snooping around.”

 

“I told you I’d find it myself,” Alex says.

 

“And didn’t think to realize you’re in a ‘shoot first, ask later’ type of neighborhood?”

 

Alex cocks her head. “I’m not on anyone’s land.”

 

“That doesn’t matter around here, especially if you’re strange.” The officer pops a hip. “Why, none of us even know your name.”

 

“I don’t know yours,” Alex counters.

 

“Yeah, but I’m law enforcement asking you your name.”

 

“I can go over your head.”

 

The woman gives a cheeky grin. “But you won’t.”

 

Alex huffs. “Agent Danvers.”

 

“Agent? Wow, fancy. But let me give you some advice.” The woman steps closer to Alex, close enough that if she dropped a pin on the ground, Alex would hear it. “Around here, we give each other first names. If you want to make friends with us hillbillies, it’s the least you’ll want to do.”

 

“I don’t think you’re hillbillies.” When the other woman raises an eyebrow, Alex repeats herself. “I don’t think _you’re_ a hillbilly.”

 

“I guess I should consider that a compliment, huh?”

 

Alex gives a wary look at the officer, but she gives up. “My name is Alex.”

 

“Well, howdy, Alex.” The woman sticks out her hand. “My name’s Maggie. Maggie Rodas.”

 

They shake for a long time. The longer they shake, the wider and more shit-eating Rodas’s smile gets. Alex drops her hand quickly.

 

“What’s the pod so important for, anyway?” Rodas asks.

 

“It’s a pod we’ve seen before,” Alex says. “We just want to take it back to the government and see what’s inside it.”

 

“It looks pretty empty to me. Nothing’s gone off.”

 

“There’s certain technology that can open it. We have help.”

 

“Oh, like Superman?” Alex straightens her posture at that. “C’mon, I’m not dumb. Pods don’t appear like that just every day, especially in the country. It’s not hard to draw the parallels.”

 

“Does the whole town think that’s what it is?”

 

Rodas shrugs. “Most of them have come to see it, but I don’t think they try to naturally make connections.”

 

“You have a sharp mind, then,” Alex says. “Most of the people I work with don’t even try to make them.”

 

“That’s because it’s the government.” Alex gives her that one and playfully rolls her eyes at it. “It’s pretty chilly out here. Wanna go in the car?”

 

“I don’t even know you,” Alex says.

 

“Nonsense! You know my name, don’t you? Just accept the Midwestern hospitality and get in my car.”

 

“Midwestern hospitality?” Alex finds herself getting into the police cruiser without arguing. A first.

 

“Yeah, y’know, just being friendly. Being open to people. Not too open, mind you.” Rodas laughs at that. “Also some common manners. Sir, ma’am, that kind of stuff.”

 

When they hop in, the car is still running. Rodas apologizes. “It’s a pretty old model so the heat only works so well, but I figured it’s better than the cold. You’re shivering.”

 

Alex looks down and notices her hands are slightly shaking. “I didn’t really notice.”

 

“You not used to the cold weather?” Rodas asks. “It’s just over 40.”

 

“ _Just_ over 40?” Alex instinctively rubs her hands on her arms. “California rarely goes under 50 in the winter. This is freezing to me.”

 

Rodas raises her eyebrows incredulously. “Sounds crazy to me. This is some of my favorite weather. I love the winter.” She takes a second to pause and look outside at all the foliage the beams of the headlights spill on. “Would you like me to drive you to D&M?”

 

“You know where I’m staying?”

 

Rodas shrugs. “It’s not like there are a lot of options.”

 

As Rodas drives slowly through the empty town, Alex notices how dark it is and voices that.

 

“I think we had more streetlamps at one point, but kids or drunks always manage to break them,” Rodas says. “It’s also just being out in the country.” She pauses the car in the middle of the road. “Wanna roll down your window?”

 

Alex gives Rodas a pensive look, but she nods on. “Wow,” Alex says. “You actually meant _roll_ it down.”

 

“Yeah. Guess we don’t have the newest models,” Rodas says. “Look up at the sky. You can see the stars.”

 

Alex situates herself so she can pop her head and arm out the window. “You’re right! Wow. This is better than even the city I grew up in. You can see Aries!”

 

Alex misses the look of surprise of Rodas’s face, but she hears Rodas say, “Oh, wow. Okay, you know a lot more than I do, I just think they’re pretty.”

 

Getting her body back in the car, Alex says, “My dad and I used to go stargazing a lot. He taught me about the constellations.”

 

“You have a favorite?”

 

“Probably Ophiuchus,” Alex says. “It’s of a man holding a serpent. I was really into snakes as a kid.” She pauses. “Shouldn’t you be doing your job instead of talking to me?”

 

“Who says getting to know you isn’t a part of my job?” Rodas counters. “Really, though. There’s only two of us on duty at night and it’s usually pretty quiet. A lot of folks here go to bed early so they can do their farming in the morning.”

 

“So no night life, then? Darn.”

 

“I mean, if you wanna go back to The Dog House…” Alex’s face scrunches up. “Yeah, I had a feeling you wouldn’t.”

 

Alex looks out the window. They’re already pulling into the parking lot for D&M, but she still asks, “Don’t you ever want to get out of here?”

 

Rodas stops the slow-moving car to a halt. “What do you mean?”

 

Alex shrugs. “You just talk like you want a lot more than what you have. Unless what you want is staying a junior cop your whole life and marrying some guy from your high school. And if that is,” Alex is quick to correct herself, “that’s good for you! But it just looks like to me…”

 

She sees Rodas look down introspectively. Then she looks back up. Her brown eyes are honest. “I don’t really get a choice in what I have.”

 

Before Alex can respond to that, Rodas continues. “You can get out now.”

 

Alex is out the car and about to shut the door when Rodas says, “Wait!”

 

Alex keeps the door open and crouches so she’s eye-level with Rodas. “Yeah?”

 

“The pod. It’s actually in my family’s backyard. Here.” Rodas takes an old receipt and scribbles an address on it. “Come over tomorrow afternoon. You can tell my dad I told you about it so he doesn’t arrest you for trespassing or something.”

 

Alex takes the receipt, surprised. “Thank you.”

 

Rodas shrugs. “Seems like the right thing to do. You seem like one of the good guys.”

 

Alex smirks at that. “You gettin’ soft on me?”

 

“What?” Rodas scoffs. “No. Don’t think so highly of yourself.”

 

A gravelly voice pops from Rodas’s personal speaker breaks their conversation. “We have a 10-34X.”

 

She immediately answers back. “Okay, I’ll be there.”

 

“10-35X? I don’t recognize that code,” Alex says.

 

“Domestic dispute,” Rodas says, “but since everyone knows everyone here, we put a letter next to them because it’s always the same people.” She shrugs. “I’ll see you later, I guess. Come by my family’s place tomorrow morning and we can inspect that pod together.”

 

“Goodnight, Rodas.”

 

The officer tips her chin up in camaraderie. “G’night, Agent Danvers.”

 

The window rolls up and soon, the only thing left of Rodas is the spots in her eyes from looking too closely at the taillights in the dark.

 

***

 

Maggie experiences the rare occasion of being woken up that next morning, a bird insistent on tapping its beak against her window. She looks at her clock and sees it’s barely past ten. A late morning for her, but considering she had the night before, she’d gotten about eight hours of sleep.

 

“Dammit,” Maggie huffs, sinking into her bed. “And on my day off, too.”

 

She’s halfway to making a cup of coffee when she hears muffled yelling down in the backyard. Wearily, she pads down the steps of her apartment only to see her dad and the agent―Danvers―arguing in the backyard, the pod in between them.

 

_She’s a lot earlier than I thought she’d be._

 

“Maggie!” her father chides. “You gave the location of the pod to the fed?”

 

“It’s not that big of a deal, Dad.”

 

Maggie sees Agent Danvers give her a lookover. “Cute PJs.”

 

Maggie looks down to realize she’s still wearing her usual Henley and patterned pajama bottoms combo. She looks up and can feel the blush on her face.

 

“As I was saying.” Agent Danvers looks to Maggie’s dad. “I just want to take a quick inspection to make sure it doesn’t have anything threatening in there, which I doubt, and then I want to take it back to where I am in National City.”

 

“Like hell!” Maggie’s dad says. “This is _my_ property. I’m not going to let it be taken over by the big guys up in the chain just so you can see whatever is in this thing.”

 

“We wouldn’t be overtaking anything,” Agent Danvers says. “I would ask for a helicopter to come pick it up, and I would be gone before it leaves the ground.”

 

“C’mon, Dad,” Maggie says, stepping in between the two. “Remember what I said about her leaving as soon as possible?”

 

“Don’t defend her, Margarita!” her dad spits, and Maggie slumps. It seems like it’s going to be _that_ type of day with him.

 

“I’m not on anyone’s side!” Maggie’s voice feels slightly desperate. “Just, doesn’t she have a family to get home to? And we’re sitting here keeping her all the way in Blue Springs.”

 

“Oh,” her dad says. He looks at the agent. “I’m sure you have a husband or boyfriend to get home to.”

 

The agent snorts. “Yeah, not in this lifetime.”

 

Maggie tries to not catch flies when the agent says that. By the shocked look on her own face, the words were said out of habit before considering her environment.

 

She doesn’t even want to see the look on her dad’s face at the moment.

 

“You can leave,” he says.

 

Agent Danvers clears her throat awkwardly. “Look, it was a little rude of me to say that without thinking. But the pod is still here and I―”

 

“I don’t care,” her father interrupts. “The president himself can come and take the pod if he wants. I’m not letting you take it. Now leave my property before I make you.”

 

“Well then you have a good day, sir,” the agent says. She looks at Maggie, and the temper that’s been slowly rising leaves her eyes, if only just for a second. “You too. Ma’am.”

 

Maggie doesn’t even pay attention to whatever nonsense her dad spurts as Agent Danvers walks away from the backyard. The way she leaves is more stoic, less panicked than when she’d left the bar the day before. Her back is straightened. She walks with a strut Maggie is used to seeing in men.

 

And, yeah, this time, Maggie knows she’s looking too much into it. But she can’t find it in herself to care.

 

***

 

Alex leaves the Rodas residence angry. If there was a fucking gym around in this dump, she’s pay to punch a bad until her knuckles were sore.

 

Knowing from the experience of the past few days of her business being on display more quickly than Kara would probably be able to get here (with her _powers_ ) and console her, Alex tries to find a place to eat a late lunch before they decide to run her out of their business. She comes across a Subway and figures it’s better than nothing.

 

As she’s ordering her sandwich, she realizes there’s a small ice cream section that extends past the glass counter to make sandwiches. She gives a double-take when she sees one of the flavors is red, blue, and yellow and called Superman. She takes a quick and discreet photo of the flavor when the employee isn’t looking and texts it to Kara.

 

She doesn’t usually eat in the car, but she figures now is an okay exception.

 

As she slowly drives around town in the middle of the afternoon, she’s suddenly conscious of the vehicle she has. She hadn’t realized it yesterday, as she’d mostly walked everywhere, but next time she gets a mission like this (if there even _is_ a next time), she’s going to ask for something that blends in a little more.

 

Speaking of missions, this one is over. She’s going to call Henshaw and tell him it’s done. When she looks at her phone, though, she sees there’s no signal.

 

“You’ve got to be fucking _serious!_ ” Alex huffs and drives the few minutes it takes to get to the motel. When she walks in the front door, she sees Petunia staring at her, a dark look on her face.

 

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” she says. “I don’t need rumors of people like you staying here. You don’t need to pay for the rest of what your stay would be, either.”

 

Alex curses again and stomps down the hall to her room, shoves the few things she brought into her Tahoe, and drives into the first abandoned parking lot she can find.

 

She doesn’t cry, but damn, she’s close to.

 

Her phone is back in service.

 

But by that time she realizes she doesn’t want to call in to make things easier. She wants to do this alone.

 

So she calls Kara.

 

“Alex! You gonna be home in time for Christmas? And how’s the bacteria hunting going?”

 

“I dunno. It’s really a day-by-day case. And, um… it’s going okay, I guess.”

 

“I can hear in your voice you’re not okay.”

 

Alex bites her lip. “I just… no one you know, but but people found out I’m a lesbian and they, uh, they don’t like it.”

 

“Well fuck them.”

 

Alex lets out an unexpected bark of laughter.

 

“I’m glad me randomly cursing makes you feel better… Seriously, though! Their opinions don’t matter. There’s people there on your side, right?”

 

Alex thinks about Maggie and how, while shocked, she hadn’t looked disgusted. “Yeah. I think so.”

 

“Well then you should be okay until you get back! And don’t forget, you’ll always have me!”

 

“Of course I do. Even back with the whole Vicki nonsense in high school, you were always with me.”

 

“Yeah. She was such a huge jerk! Maybe it’s just me being from another planet, but I’ve never gotten all that homophobia stuff this planet seems to have.”

 

“Trust me, I’m from here, and I don’t get it either. But I’m glad I called. I guess I just wanted to hear how my baby sister was doing. I have some time to kill…”

 

“Oh, really? You have time to kill so you call me? I don’t ramble… much.”

 

“Really, though, what’ve you been up to?”

 

“Well…”

 

***

 

It’s half past six when there’s a knock on Maggie’s door. She opens it to see Alex Danvers looking more morose than usual.

 

“Um… you okay?”

 

“I got kicked out of the motel,” the agent says, “and I think you’re the only person in this town that doesn’t think I’m some sort of degenerate.”

 

Maggie wordlessly steps back so Agent Danvers can enter. “You want something to drink?”

 

She shakes her head. “I’m technically on the job.”

 

“As an officer, I’m always on the job, but I still have something. You don’t have to get college wasted, but if you just want to feel a little less stress…”

 

The other woman thinks for a minute. “What do you have?”

 

“I have some scotch.”

 

Alex nose wrinkles. “Okay. Not too much for me, though.”

 

Maggie has a couch that she figures they can both sit comfortably on and that’s where the two of them go after the drinks have been poured. She watches as the agent, basically pouting, sips her wine as she stares out the window.

 

“I doubt there’s much to look at out there,” Maggie says.

 

“Better than nothing.”

 

A pause. “… I’m sorry the motel made you leave. That’s pretty shitty.”

 

Alex shrugs. “Said she didn’t want my kind staying there or whatever. I guess I get it.” She looks at Maggie. “You’re probably the only person I’ve seen today that knows and hasn’t treated me lesser.”

 

“It can get pretty bad here,” Maggie admits. “There’s a few people that aren’t horrible about it, though. Like, hate the sin, not the sinner, that type.”

 

“Back where I live, that’s still considered pretty terrible.” Alex props an elbow up on the arm of the sofa and rests her head on her palm. “I came out in high school, y’know? I had a friend. A best friend. And right before senior year, I realized I wanted more.”

 

Maggie’s skin tingles at that.

 

“She found out and wasn’t really happy. But most of the school ate up the drama from about a month or so and then went back to normal.” Alex looks at Maggie. “I’m sure something like that would’ve ended up a lot differently here if you’re telling me people who only partially hate gay people are not too shabby.”

 

Maggie’s expression sours. She pours another three fingers into her glass. “Yeah, I guess so.”

 

Alex takes a gulp of her drink. “Sorry to dump that all on you.”

 

“I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

 

“Yeah, well, listen to this.” Alex sighs. “I’ve been here way longer than I want to be and I still don’t have that damn pod.

 

“Why don’t you just call your boss and have him pick the pod up?”

 

“I almost did,” Alex admits, “but I don’t want him thinking I can’t do it. This is my first solo mission. He didn’t have to put me here to retrieve the pod, but he did. If I have to call him to do it the easy way, it makes it worthless, right?”

 

“I disagree,” Maggie says. “I think people need help sometimes.”

 

“Well, I’m glad you’re here helping me, then.” Maggie just shrugs at that. Alex gives a verbal _hmmm_. “Does anyone ever help you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Like, you say you’re a good listener, I say you’re a good helper, too. Does anyone do the same to you? I can return the favor.”

 

“I don’t listen expecting people to return any favors.”

 

“Yeah,” Alex says, “but you’re, like, the most interesting person in this town. I’m sure you have a ton to say.”

 

“I don’t know why you seem to think I’m interesting. I’m not. I keep telling myself I’ll go back but I’m basically a college dropout because my mom fell down the stairs and needs assistance. I’m pretty sure I only have my job because I have an associate’s in criminal justice and my dad was nice enough to give me the job, I live at home, I’ve never been in a committed romantic relationship, I don’t have a lot of friends except coworkers and family because…” Maggie shrugs. “I’ve always been sort of an outcast. I got into trouble several times during school. People didn’t want to hang with me. I’m just trying to be honest here; if you got to know me, you’d just be let down.”

 

“I don’t think I’d be let down.” Alex says. “And some of the stuff I can relate to. You’re, what, a few years older than me at the most? I haven’t been in a long relationship or anything, either. And I don’t have a lot of friends. My sister tells me my personality is clashy. Her word, not mine.”

 

Maggie groans. “It’s just, y’know…? Like, men aren’t all that much. When I was in high school, I knew all the boys in my grade. Like, growing up in a small town sucks. I figured that once I got to college, I’d find a guy. I went for almost three years… they were all so boring. Girls are just a lot more interesting to hang out with, but they all seem too catty. I don’t want the drama.” Maggie pauses. “And now I sound like a misogynist.”

 

Alex laughs heartily. “That actually sounds pretty gay. High school me would say the exact same thing. Down to the catty girls and everything.”

 

“No, Alex.” Maggie shakes her head. “I’m not gay.”

 

“You’re not gay?”

 

“No. No offense.”

 

Alex looks up at the cracks in the ceiling. “You’d be surprised how many gay women I’ve heard that from.”

 

Maggie’s face scrunches up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“It’s just…” Alex gestures wildly. “It’s kinda common for people to be all _I’m not gay_ but then it turns out they are. You’ve said you never found relationships with men worthwhile. It’s easy to deny it.”

 

“But I’m not denying anything!”

 

“Fine.” Alex shrugs. “Forget I said anything.”

 

“I can’t… just… look. I’ll show you. I’m not gay.” Maggie sets her glass of scotch down. She clumsily takes her hands and cups both of them around Alex’s face.

 

And she kisses her.

 

It’s not what she expects. She’s kissed several boys and then men before―kissing Alex is a lot different. Maggie remembers how nervous she would get playing spin the bottle at co-ed parties, watching the empty bottle spin around and around on an old carpet floor and whenever it was a girl spinning, she would pray to God that it wouldn’t land on her. The thought of having to kiss another girl in front of all those people made her want to throw up.

 

Now, she’s alone, she’s drunk enough that driving would be dangerous enough, and taking Alex’s bottom lip in both her own feels like a hermit crab finally finding a shell after years of being without. Like all the stars have aligned the same night as a solar eclipse but the shadow is brighter than any summer day could possibly be.

 

It’s the feeling of when you’d play all day outside with your cousins, making up recipes consisting of mud and leaves and pretending to be orphans with superpowers with contests of who could come up with the most depressing backstory, only to hose off all of the mess in the end and come home to a warm dinner cooked by your mother.

 

It just felt right.

 

She tears herself away when she realizes what just happened. Alex is looking at her with a blank expression on her face.

 

“You okay?” she asks.

 

Maggie grits her teeth. “I’m… I’m going to go to bed now. You can sleep here, of course. Good night.”

 

***

 

Alex wakes up the next morning freezing even though there’s two quilts on her. She instinctively rubs down the buzzed side of her head, as it usually gives itself many cow licks while Alex is asleep. Curious, she sits up. Headache isn’t too horrible, so that’s nice.

 

She can see Maggie in the kitchen, mug in hand.

 

“Morning.”

 

Maggie startles and whips her head around to see Alex in all her bedhead glory. “Mornin’.”

 

“I can get out of your hair,” Alex says, and Maggie shakes her head.

 

“Can’t,” she says. “We’re snowed in.”

 

“What?” Alex races to the window to see about a foot of snow. “I mean, it’s not like I couldn’t open the door…”

 

“Alex. It’s not a big deal. Just stay.”

 

“You just…” Alex rubs her temples; the brightness of the snow had made her small headache worse. “Never mind.”

 

Breaking the chance of an awkward silence, Maggie asks, “Coffee?”

 

Alex blinks, the change in topic quicker than she expected. “Sure.”

 

As Maggie gets up, Alex sees her bustle around the small apartment kitchen in a large tee and shorts and thinks about, how in a different world, this awkward tango they’re dancing would be, instead, domestic. The kiss last night wouldn’t have been a drunk girl proving herself to Alex and the morning would consist of rolling around in the bed and calling in sick for work.

 

Shocking herself out of such a picture, Alex takes the warm mug Maggie hands her and takes a sip even though she can feel the taste buds shriveling off her tongue. Maybe the cold weather has gotten to her.

 

“The weather looks like it’s going to get warmer in the afternoon. Enough of the snow might melt off by then.”

 

Alex looks at her drink. “Do your parents know I’m here? Will they?”

 

“Probably not. Almost all of the businesses are closed today anyway since it’s Christmas Eve and my dad said he’d be the only one on patrol.”

 

“Huh.” Alex slouches in her chair. “I honestly forgot it was Christmas Eve today.”

 

“Time flies, huh?”

 

Alex finishes her coffee without another word. It takes several minutes. Finally, she says the words she’s been thinking since the second she woke up.

 

“I know it’s a lot, but, Maggie… last night? What was that?”

 

“I think I was trying to prove to you I’m not gay,” she says.

 

“And how’d that work?”

 

Maggie looks like a dog whose bone was taken away: droopy faces, sad brown eyes. “It didn’t.”

 

“I personally don’t consider it a bad thing to be proven wrong in this situation,” Alex says. “You know it’s not wrong, right? You don’t hate _me_ for being gay.”

 

“It’s different for me, though, isn’t it?”

 

“How?” Alex asks. “If this is the real you, there’s no way that’s a bad thing.”

 

“I just… the story you said last night. I had a girl I liked in high school too. Her name was Eliza.”

 

Wow, okay. Alex tries not to look too weirded out by that.

 

“I thought she was so cool and funny and one Valentine’s Day I wrote her a letter saying we should go to the dance together…”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I told my parents again and again I meant it as best friends. Even though a small part of me knew… knew I liked her the way I was supposed to like boys. I would never imagine myself kissing her; that was too far, y’know? But I’d imagine holding her hand, or buying her candy when she was sad. And I just ignored that for so long because I didn’t want anyone thinking of me differently.”

 

“I’m so sorry, Maggie.” Alex wants to pat her hand comfortingly, but she’s sure Maggie would be sensitive to touch from her right now, so she refrains herself.

 

“And after that, girls weren’t allowed to sleep over at the house. Every time I named a girl in front of my parents, they’d always be like _your_ friend _, right, Margarita?_ and it just instilled such a huge fear in me.”

 

“You deserve a lot better. You deserve to explore who you are.”

 

“I don’t know how long I’d lie to myself if it wasn’t for all this shit that’s happening,” Maggie admits. “But, what if it’s just easier to? What if I’m just lying to myself and it’s not real?”

 

“Absolutely not,” Alex says. “You’re real, Maggie. You can live a happy life being yourself.”

 

“But here?”

 

“It doesn’t have to be here. It could be anywhere else.”

 

“But this is my _home_.”

 

Alex ponders on that for a second. “I’ve mentioned my sister, right?” At Maggie’s nod, she continues. “Her name’s Kara. She’s adopted. She came into my family when I was 14. She’d lost her entire family in a horrible accident. Her whole home was gone. But she made one with us, yeah? Her becoming a part of my family taught me that sometimes, our home is taken away from us, but that just means we have to build a new one.”

 

It takes Maggie a few seconds to talk. When she does, she gives a soft laugh, the kind you give yourself. “Wow. I… I’m used to being the one giving good advice.”

 

Alex just smiles at that. “It seems to me like that’s enough introspection for the next few years or so, huh? This can all be super mind-consuming. I know it’s a lot to take in. You wanna see if the cable works? If not, don’t think I didn’t see that DVD collection on the shelf…”

  
  
  


Henshaw gets there within a few hours with a helicopter. It’s dark by the time he does.

 

“Folks around here are going to be talking about this for the next twenty years, y’know,” Alex jokes.

 

“I have no doubt,” Henshaw says. “How was the mission? Bond with the civilians?”

 

Alex contemplates. “I… yeah. A few.”

 

Henshaw gives a soft smile.

 

Just then, the two Rodass burst into the backyard.

 

“You at least gonna tell me what’s in that pod?” Oscar Rodas demands.

 

“We think it is either an alien or supplies belonging to a planet from the Andromeda Galaxy,” Henshaw answers. “It’s nothing dangerous, but it would be best if it was opened in a place that if it was, the correct technology could handle it.”

 

“Well, why didn’t you say so? I still don’t like the idea of y’all comin’ into my place like this, but at least you make more sense than she does.”

 

Alex gives Henshaw a _See what I had to deal with?_ look. Henshaw looks back at her and Alex can tell it’s saying to not start anything.

 

“Agent Danvers,” Henshaw says, “why don’t you get your supplies and put them in the helicopter? We can fit the rented vehicle in the helicopter.”

 

Alex notices that Maggie follows her to the Tahoe where Alex parked it after calling Henshaw but before he got here.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Maggie looks nervous. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

 

Alex opens the car door and starts gathering her things. “It’s not me you should be thanking.”

 

“But still,” Maggie says. “I think… I think this was never meant to be my endgame. But I think it’d have taken me a longer time to realize that and get the courage to do something else if it wasn’t you who had come to inspect that pod.”

 

“What are you thinking of doing?”

 

“Going back to school, mainly. Becoming completely financially independent from my parents so that, when, y’know…” Maggie takes a second to glance around in her peripherals, “come out… which, sooner or later, I’ll have to… do that. I want to make sure I’m free from them if they choose to cut me out. They probably will.”

 

“You don’t have to do all that,” Alex says.

 

“Maybe you feel that way, but I don’t. I can’t live a lie around them. This is something I’ve tried to deny for so long, and I…” Maggie takes a deep breath. “I don’t want to be alone, yeah? I want to have someone. I want to have a full life. And I’ve realized that if my family here can’t accept the definition of what my full is, I’ll create a new family. I don’t need people who are just going to bring me down. I don’t need anything from them. I’m already good.”

 

Alex slings a bag over her shoulder. “Sounds pretty wise for someone who is basically a baby gay.”

 

Maggie blushes at that. “I had a lot of time to think before you woke up this morning. What you said… it just clarified it for me.”

 

“Good to know. It’s been in you this whole time, then.” Alex looks up and a slight ‘O’ forms on her face. “Hey, there’s mistletoe above us.”

 

“Huh? I don’t think mistletoe even grows naturally in Nebraska.” Maggie looks up. Even in the dark, the outline of the obvious plant can be seen, hanging from a tree. “I’ll be damned.”

 

“I’m not going to pressure you into anything, but.” Alex gives Maggie a quick peck on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Maggie.”

 

“It’s not even Christmas yet.”

 

“Is it not? Check your watch.”

 

Maggie turns on the backlight of her watch and sees it’s a few minutes past midnight. “Oh. I guess it is.”

 

“I’m going to head back to the ‘copter before my boss thinks something’s hinky,” Alex says, and she shuts the car door with her heel.

 

Maggie follows her dumbly, and realizes she forgot to do something right as Alex is stepping into the helicopter. “Agent Danvers!” she calls. “Alex!”

 

Alex looks back. Her hair isn’t in its same coiffed fashion it was the first day or so―it’s down. Her choppy brown bangs flutter around her face as the choppers of the helicopter start to warm up. “Yeah?”

 

“Merry Christmas to you, too.”

 

***

 

 _October, 2016_.

 

A lot has happened, to say the least. The past few years of Maggie Rodas’s life have been more turbulent and life-fulfilling than the rest of the years before that.

 

Her parents did not like it when she came out a few weeks before graduation.

 

Needless to say, they didn’t come. And it broke Maggie’s heart, but what was she to expect? She’s extremely lucky she had enough support in Nebraska to get through it.

 

A small voice in her reminded her of Agent Alex Danvers, but they’d never shared contact information. Unless the agent somehow went back to the Rodas residence, there was no way Maggie would find her again.

 

After finishing her degree in Lincoln, she was able to get into the Gotham Police program incredibly quickly (whether it was because of her achievements, being a token, or a combination of both, she won’t complain) and going through the hell that was being a rookie officer in an incredibly corrupt police force, Maggie finally convinced the higher-ups that giving her a detective’s badge and transferring her to an alien-specific division in National City was better for everyone involved.

 

She even had a girlfriend in Gotham. It was something she’d never imagined until it _happened_. Given, it didn’t end well because even a gay Maggie Rodas seems to be a failure in the commitment department, but at least the sex is a lot better.

 

Maggie still wakes up in shock that she has the job she’s wanted for so long. She’d been so afraid that a few years off was going to set her back for life, having to pretend to be content in a state full of corn and cows, but instead, she feels like she’s making a difference.

 

Today is no different. There was a planned, and yet thankfully failed, attempt to attack the president when she arrived to National City. Maggie walks around the scene with the swagger the past few years of following her dreams has built her, only to seem what looks like some rookie fed bagging evidence incorrectly.

 

She rolls her eyes. They really think they’re all that.

 

Spotting a puddle of blood on the tarmac of the airport, Maggie kneels down to take a closer look at it. It seemed to be human. She’s thinking about searching for any injured persons and making sure they’re okay when a hauntingly familiar voice gives her a shock to her system.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing at my crime scene?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> btw, what's inside the pod doesn't particularly matter, but if it's important to you, i personally imagined mon-el in there.


End file.
